Requiem For a Hero
by TXsmalltowngirl
Summary: Oliver is trying to make amends to Felicity for leaving for so long. He is trying to give back to her as he gives back to the Glades. Felicity plays the violin and also writes music.
1. Chapter 1

This has been floating around in my head for weeks and I finally decided to try and write it down. I thought of this when I listened to the Dr. Who Prom on BBC3 radio on the internet. All mistakes are mine.

More notes at the bottom.

Naturally the characters of DC comics and CW television are not mine.

**Requiem for a Hero**

Flashback

_Quite by accident Oliver discovered that Felicity was a violin virtuoso. It happened after the Dodger incident. He had gone back to her condo to make sure she was okay. He started to knock on her front door when he heard her playing. At first he thought it was a CD playing but then he heard her stop and start and then she began rambling and started again. What he heard floored him it captured every nuance of the bomb on her neck to the chase to get the detonator to the release of the bomb collar. He also could feel her anguish and fright of the after effects. He never knocked. He knew when she had worked out her troubles when she played a light airy piece. He returned to her home each time one of their missions went wrong or was too emotional. Finding Walter was a particularly emotional piece. As she played he felt the long journey that they took in finding him and then freeing him. It soothed Oliver's soul and he felt it must have soothed hers as well. There were many nights he would stop by in hopes that she was playing just to express joy and if he was lucky he enjoyed those as well. After the fall of the Glades he dropped by and heard nothing but a sobbing Felicity. He peeked into the window and found her holding a crushed violin. It was if that was the final blow to his brain and heart. He left without the balm to his soul he had become so used to. He couldn't take it anymore._

Returning to Starling City and to Queen Consolidated was more of a shock to Oliver then he had thought. He saw Felicity but she was different not the bright light he was hoping for. It was if the light had been turned off. He knew his leaving was part of it but he couldn't figure out what the real reason was. He knew he needed to light the spark to get her brightness back.

Everyone was telling him he needed to do benefits for the Glades and he agreed. It hit him that maybe he could get Felicity involved in one of them. He picked up his phone and made a call to JB and asked him if he could possibly headline a benefit for him. He said yes and they set a date for a month later.

Oliver went down to Felicity's office and asked if he could speak to her privately for a few minutes. She was still angry that he had left without a word but she agreed to listen. He laid out his plan for JB and he could see the light in her eyes brighten. "You want me to set up the concert with my most favorite violinist in the entire world? I've never done anything like this before," she said. "Well if you want me to give it to someone else…"Oliver said. "No, no I'll do it but don't you have PR for this" Felicity replied. "Yes, I can get them to help you but you will be in charge," he said. She asked, "Why?" "He's a friend of mine and I want him to be treated special and the only person I could think of was you," Oliver said looking her straight in her eyes. "I happened to go to the Dr. Who Proms while I was away and…" Felicity yelped, "I heard it on BBC3 radio on the internet. I have to admit I am so jealous." Oliver smiled he wasn't going to tell her he went because he was missing her and he knew she loved Dr. Who. "Okay, I'll do it," she said. He gave her the date and said he would get back to her with JB's information.

He returned to his office and called JB back and told him it was set and told him about Felicity. He told him that she was a great violinist as well as how her violin was destroyed. He let him know he wanted to get her a new one and JB told him he wanted to hear her play first and then he would get her one that would fit her level of play. Of course Oliver would pay for it. JB asked if he and Felicity would meet him next week in New York City as he was doing a concert there with The New York Philharmonic Orchestra. They worked out the details and talked some more about Felicity and he hung up.

He went back down to Felicity's office and saw her lost in her dreams and smiled. He stood there waiting for her to come out of it and when she did she jumped when she realized he was standing there, "Oliver why are you back here?" "JB asked that we attend one of his concerts in New York City next Thursday. He wants to talk to you about how you two would present the benefit." "What? When?" Her heart was fluttering. "Next Thursday. We'll leave here Thursday morning and return Friday afternoon. Are you okay with that?" he asked. "Yes, What will I wear?" she wondered. "I'll get you a dress for the concert but just your normal clothes for all the rest," he replied. "What about my work?" she asked. "This is work," he smiled. "Oh yeah right. Okay then," she grinned.

A million thoughts went through her head. What she should take with her and what the theme of the concert should be. Then she thought of her smashed violin. It took a little of her pleasure away but knowing she would be hearing JB next Thursday helped. _I wonder if I could show him my Requiem for a Hero?_

**_Thursday_**

They arrived at the concert hall and went to meet JB. Felicity was very nervous about the meeting. He turned out to be just as nice as Oliver promised. He saw her looking at his Stradivarius violin and asked her if she would like to play it. Her eyes gleamed and she reverently picked it up. Her hand touching the violin and her eyes closed. She held if for almost a full minute before she was able to breathe. JB was observing her the entire time. She picked up the bow and then made sure the violin was in tune and played a few notes. She closed her eyes again and started playing _Tomaso Antonio Vitali's __**Chaconne in G Minor**__. _The hall went quiet as everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. When she finished the hall erupted in applause. She was surprised but happy. She hadn't played in almost six months and it felt like heaven to her. Joshua smiled and asked who had trained her and she told him that her mother had until she died when Felicity was sixteen. He kept looking at her and asked, "Was your mother Meghan Ziloviche by any chance?" "Yes, How did you know that?" she replied. "I have her recording of that piece and it is my favorite. Your technique and nuances are so much like hers," he replied. Tears welled up in her eyes as she asked, "You actually have a recording of my mother playing the violin? "Yes, I have several, why?" he asked. "I don't have any," she said. "I'll get a copy made and give it to you this evening," he smiled.

JB then asked her, "By any chance do you still have The Gypsy?" "No, I sold it when I was twelve to pay for the hospital bills. She had a slow moving debilitating cancer and I ended up having to put her in a nursing home when I was fourteen," she replied. "Who took care of you? He asked. "I took care of myself and was emancipated at fourteen," she replied. "Have you played for anyone?" he asked. "Just myself and the patients at the nursing home." She replied. "I think you are even better than your mother," he said. "I appreciate that but I do it for myself. I lost my violin in the earthquake so haven't played in a while. I've decided to give it up," she said. "What? No you can't do that there is genius behind your work," he said. She laughed at that then queried, "Could you look this piece over? I was thinking I could arrange this with a choir and have you play it."

While they were talking the musicians in the orchestra were slowly filing in to begin their practice session with JB. The conductor had already heard Felicity play her first piece and wanted to hear her original piece. He had everyone sit in the back of the music hall.

JB looked at _Requiem For a Hero_, read the notes she had made and asked his pianist to accompany Felicity while she played it for him. When she finished she was emotionally exhausted.

The silence in the music hall was interspersed with crying. Even the pianist was crying. JB was astounded, "You must play that at the benefit. It sounds like what your city went through. Have you written anything else?" "A few things, one I wrote for my mother. It made her happy," she replied. "Could I hear that?" he asked. "Don't you need to practice for tonight?" she asked. "Yes, but it can wait. Please play your piece," he said. She took a deep breath to compose herself and began playing. The entire piece was about love. There was joy hope and love played and again the audience composed of mostly the orchestra gave her a standing ovation when she finished. Felicity was amazed and happy. Joshua was simply stunned, "You have proven to me that you are better than your mother. You were fantastic." He came up to her and gave her a hug, "just fabulous." The conductor and the First and Second Chair violinists came up to shake her hand and told her how wonderful she was. Oliver had come back from his business and felt like a proud father. He knew she was good but had not realized just how good.

JB whispered in Felicity's ear, "You are in love with Oliver aren't you?" "Why do you say that?" she asked nervously. "It's as obvious as the nose on your face and they way you played your _Journey of O. _I read your notes," he smiled. "Oh, don't let him know please," she asked. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me but I think he's in love with you as well. Have you seen the way he looks at you?" JB asked. Felicity laughed, "It will never happen."

Oliver walked on stage at that point and shook JB's hand and asked how it went with Felicity. She walked backstage with the conductor so she could ask him a few questions. JB told Oliver about The Gypsy, her mother's Stradivarius, and why Felicity sold it. It came as no surprise to Oliver that she would do it. She always thinks of others rather than herself. He asked how he could get his hands on it. JB offered to try and find it. Oliver told him to buy it and send it to him. He did not care how much. JB smiled knowing now that he was right about Oliver and Felicity.

Oliver and Felicity enjoyed the concert and returned to Starling City the next day. He had to admit that the shine in her eyes was back. Playing the Strad went a long way in helping her.

**_2 Days Before the Concert_**

Felicity and Diggle drove to the airport to pick up JB. They were surprised to see several other individuals come with him. He told them not to worry they would get their own car and he would come with her. She told him that they could all stay at the Queen Mansion for which he was grateful. She hurriedly sent a text to Oliver to let him know not realizing he already did. When he got the text he laughed thinking how frazzled it must be making her. She would appreciate it later.

When Oliver arrived at the Mansion he came upon Felicity who looked like she was about to lose it. He stopped her and put his hands on her shoulders and told her to relax. She looked so dazed. When he saw JB he raised his eyebrow in question and JB nodded.

Dinner that night was a pleasant affair. Two extra guests were on hand, Diggle and Carly. There was electricity in the air as if everyone was expecting something. Felicity couldn't put her finger on it but she felt it. Oliver clinked his wine glass at the end of the meal and stood up. "Felicity I want to thank you for all the work you have put in to make this benefit great. I have heard only remarkable things about you. In appreciation for all your hard work I would like to give you a gift." Everyone at the table was smiling in anticipation of her reaction. She looked around embarrassed by all the attention, "We don't know if it will work yet." "Felicity you are taking care of it of course it will work," replied Oliver.

One of the men that had arrived with JB came over to her and handed her a violin case. She opened it and gasped and touched the violin and then picked it up and held it to her chest and started crying. "How did you find this? How did you know?" "I've been listening to you play since the night of the auction of the Spanish brooch," he said. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" she asked. "I thought you would stop playing," he replied.

JB asked her to play the piece she wrote for her mother. She looked down on the violin and stared at it with a smile on her face and then made sure it was in tune. She tried a few runs then began playing the tribute to her mother. She was barely able to get through it because she was crying thinking about her mother and about getting the violin back. The tears of joy were for Oliver for getting the violin back to her. When she finished the gentleman who had handed the violin to her told her it was hers. He explained that he was holding it for someone who could play it the way her mother had. He would donate the money to the Glades charity because he knew the violin had the right person playing it again.

**Note: I have a second chapter about the music and the charity concert if you are interested. Not quite finished but I will if you want it!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite and followed this story. I hope I was able to somewhat feel the music._

_Again. _Naturally the characters of DC comics and CW television are not mine.

All mistakes are mine.

_Requiem for a Hero part 2_

After everyone went to bed Felicity knocked on Oliver door. He was surprised when she was standing there. He was having her stay at his home so that she had access to JB. She stood there holding her newly acquired violin and bow. "I needed to say something to you before I go to bed. I just wanted to thank you again for finding The Gypsy and giving it to me," "It was the least I could do," said Oliver. "You don't understand. When I sold it I felt like I sold her soul. My mother. . . My mother never said anything but I knew she felt like she had let me down by getting sick. I never felt like I had betrayed my mother more then when I handed it over to the buyers. I never got to hear her play again. I took away her voice her ability to project her feelings. The Gypsy was her baby, her love, her everything." Tears were sliding down her face faster than Oliver could wipe them started to say something and Felicity put her fingers up to his lips, "She was not a demonstrative person. All of her emotions were poured into the violin. She rarely said she loved me but every night before I went to bed she would play all her feelings for me. She played my hurts or my happiness that happened to me that day then she would play how she felt about me. It was beautiful. I always felt loved. I almost stopped playing the violin when she died but I realized I could release my stress from school or work and my missing her when I played. It was the only way I could sleep through the night. I haven't slept well these past six months. I didn't even think about it until you took me to hear JB play. I played for him for the first time since my violin was destroyed and it was the first time I got more than three hours of sleep. It was wonderful. I have you to thank for that as have given her back to me tonight. She will be with me when I give my one and only public performance. Thank you so much this is absolutely the best present ever. You have made me the happiest person on this planet."

"Why didn't you tell me you were listening to me?" she asked. "I couldn't as I said I was afraid you would stop. I'd been coming by your place almost nightly after the Dodger incident and the comfort and peace that you brought me was like a balm to my soul. It was like I was going to therapy without having to say anything. You captured how I felt perfectly. I didn't have to relive them in my dreams because you resolved my horrible thoughts by always ending with a defining uplift of emotion at the end of your playing. The nightmares and the demons that were always lurking felt like they were finally retreating," he said.

"Then why did you leave?" she asked. He didn't want to tell her but he finally decided he had to, "after killing Merlyn, The Undertaking and Tommy dying I went to listen to you and you were sobbing and holding your violin and I snapped. I wanted my atonement with your playing through your emotions." He looked at her with sad eyes. "It wasn't your fault it was just the final weight on a tenuous thin wire that was holding me together that night and it broke. I broke. I. . ." Felicity went up to Oliver and hugged him, "I will love you forever for bringing back my mother. To hold the bow she used and the violin she played. You brought me peace. I will never be able to repay you for your kindness. You can come anytime and listen to me play but why don't you just come inside from now on." She smiled up to him and gave him another hug. He looked at her smiling and kissed the top of her head, "I would love that." She smiled back at him and stepped back and went to her room.

_Flashback_

_Felicity had written __**Requiem For A Hero**__ for Oliver as her love letter to him. She really hadn't planned on him ever hearing it let alone her playing it to the people of Starling City. She was worried because five people would know that this was written for Oliver. Three would know it was for Oliver/Green Arrow (Felicity, Oliver and Diggle), one that it was for Green Arrow (Quentin Lance) and one that it was for Oliver (JB). The only one she was really worried about was Lance if he looked up and saw Oliver getting emotional over what he was hearing and seeing she knew he would figure out who he was. She was going to have to work with Diggle to make sure no one could see him during the performance. _

_Felicity put __**Requiem For A Hero**__ on her computer with all the parts of the orchestra and the choir as well as all the odd noises that she added for the destruction of the Glades. It wasn't the same as a real orchestra or choir but she didn't want to have to play the violin until the actual performance. __**Requiem For A Hero**__ literally exhausted her and made her ill. When she played it all the sentiments that she felt for Oliver played through her mind. It was to the point of destroying her emotionally. She had agreed to play the piece for the public but it didn't mean she was going to have to play it any more than she had to. She had also made a video to go with the music. She used scenes of the Glades that she had found on the Internet and from private collections to show the rise and fall of the city. She incorporated the music with the video and played it for the voice students at Starling City College so they could hear how she wanted them to sing. _

_Oliver had insisted that she pick out a dress to wear to the Charity event shortly after they had returned from New York City. When Felicity asked him why he told her that since she had never actually performed on stage she would need to be as comfortable as possible. He told her of a friend of his who performed barefoot because she said that it kept her grounded like she was standing in her living room playing rather than on stage. Felicity hadn't even thought about that. He asked if she was barefoot or wore shoes when she played. She decided that she needed to think about it for a while. She picked out three dresses that she liked and put them on to show Oliver. He bought them all._

**The day before the Charity Event**

**Rehearsal**

JB had let Felicity know that the concert was going to be broadcast on television and recorded for musical sales later. She became more nervous as the day wore on.

They had a run through of her piece with the Starling City College Choir and the orchestra. The TV production crew and the musical production crew were there to do blocking, sound checks, lighting and time tests. Felicity thought there would be a lot of interruptions when they began playing her composition because it had never been played before and was surprised at how well it went. She wasn't prepared for the emotions of the people in the Music Hall when it ended. She knew it affected her emotionally she just hadn't realized what other people who had been through the Undertaking were still feeling. It meant a lot to her to know this before the actual performance.

Felicity had asked the stage manager to have a chair ready for her when she finished playing. She knew that when she played full out the emotions would get to her and she might embarrass herself by fainting. She also asked Roy to catch her violin and bow before she dropped it if she actually did faint. Roy was worried about Felicity. He had become friends with her after the Undertaking and knew that she had a lot of unresolved issues in regards to it. One of them being Oliver not realizing that they were all about Oliver/Arrow/the unplanned second explosion. He promised he would take care of her after the performance.

**The premiere of Requiem For A Hero**

_Requiem For A Hero_ has five movements. _Creation, Perdition, Salvation, Redemption and Rebirth._

Oliver, Thea, Walter, Diggle and Carly were sitting in the Queen's private balcony. Oliver sat in the middle with Thea and Walter on his left and Diggle and Carly on his right. JB's performance was outstanding and the audience loved him. Oliver on the other hand was getting angry because Felicity had not played anything. Diggle was watching him hoping he wasn't going to have to do anything drastic to keep Oliver from spoiling the evening.

Oliver was stunned when JB introduced Felicity to play an original piece that she had composed. She had chosen to wear the dark blue dress, Oliver's favorite of the three dresses, she was not wearing shoes. He informed everyone that the video playing on the large screen was also Felicity's work. He told how when she had played _Requiem For A Hero_ for him the month before and that he could not believe how she had captured everything about the history of the Glades.

The orchestra began playing and the video began. Felicity raised her violin to her chin and began to play.

**Creation**

As soon as Oliver saw the blond and dark haired little boys his suspicions were aroused. He couldn't see their faces but they were together throughout the first movement growing from childhood to adulthood. He knew it was Tommy and himself. The carefree light and lyrical music showed happiness, no worries, everything bright and good, love and be loved. The video was beautifully put together a promise of the future with jobs, places to live, hope and children. His heart was in his throat. She had written this for him and he knew it. He started to get up he had to leave. Diggle was prepared and put his hand down hard on his shoulder and shook his head as he looked at him to say that he could not leave.

**Perdition**:

This was almost too hard for him to listen to. He could hear the ship exploding and feel the pain of his father killing himself and the awful pain of the next five years. He was barely able to breathe. She had put to music all the anger, hate, fear, frustration, innocence, running, hiding, stupidity on his part, cold, wet, hunger, loss, hurt, pain, betrayal, death, torture every emotion he could think of was coursing through his body. It was if he was reliving all five years in a matter of minutes. How was she able to do that? The discordant sounds, the fighting, thunder, battles, torture, rage, they were perfect. He looked down at her, the tears flowing freely down her face. How was she able to continue playing? He stared at the video. He remembered hearing about the time the Glades started to go bad and the video depicted it perfectly. She had managed to make it look like irresponsible landlords, fighting, drugs etc. she showed it all. He then looked at the audience. Their faces had a myriad of emotions going on. They were fully engaged in the story she was telling. He realized that he was crying when he felt Diggle squeeze his shoulder. He couldn't believe how much he appreciated the show of support. Obviously Diggle knew it was written for him.

**Salvation**:

Felicity captured his arrival, the first party that Tommy gave for his return, the accusations of his being the Hood and all the silly lies that he told her. Dealng with his various personae: the billionaire playboy, the Hood, son friend, lover and businessman. The jealousy of Tommy and Laurel, he knew it immediately. The Christmas party at his home, the Huntress, the Count, Vertigo, being shot by his mother and leading to Felicity finding him in her car. The Dodger, looking for and finding Walter, the turmoil of Deadshot, the Savior and finally the Undertaking, the killing of Merlyn, finding that there were two bombs and the heroic action of Tommy dying. He heard the Chinese prayer he said for Tommy, how did she know about that? The cadence of the music was perfect and again he wondered how she had gotten it so right. Yet, she was able to show the comeback of the Glades and then it's destruction. The choir was excellent and the cacophony of noise from the explosion was frightening and so real. He could hear the crying in the audience becoming louder. His tears had not stopped and neither had Felicity's. Why did she write this? The pain in his heart was almost too much to take. His hands were clinched so tight he felt like they would be permanently disabled. He looked at Thea crying as she opened and closed her hand and held a death grip on Walter's hand. Carly was also crying and gripping Diggle's other hand like it was her lifeline.

**Redemption**:

He knew again that she was telling of his time alone on the island. Trying to atone for his sins of omission, redundancy, failure to save Tommy, the 503 dead although he hadn't found that out until he returned, the devastation of the Glades. The slow reverberation of the music tinged with sadness, anger and confusion was perfect. The timbre of the music was sad but beautiful but it portrayed the shock of what happened in the Glades.

**Rebirth**:

The final movement was the most beautiful part of _Requiem For A Hero_ it was of hope, renewal, and love. It told him that all would become well with the world. He would survive, he was loved and he would become the hero that everyone wanted and needed. He would reclaim the city and the people and they would work together to make it a better place. He would heal and survive and would someday be at peace. The ending was glorious in its elegance it ended with hope.

The silence was profound.

Felicity dropped her hands to her sides barely holding her violin and bow. She was so emotionally spent she couldn't move. Roy ran up and grabbed her around her waist and the instruments and slowly lowered her into the chair. She was totally zoned out. She gave it her all and she wasn't sure it was good enough. She had nothing left to give. She felt empty. She heard nothing and felt nothing.

Oliver jumped up as soon as he saw her head fall to her chest and her arms to her sides. Walter stood up as well. He stopped Oliver and shook his hand, "she's extraordinary our Felicity, don't you think?" Oliver looked at him. "She loves you very much, that was the most beautiful love song I have ever heard," said Walter. "How did you know?" asked Oliver. "It was your entire life. Thank you again for saving my life," said Walter. Oliver's eyes went wide. Walter chuckled, "yes I know your secret. I owe you, Felicity and Mr. Diggle so much. She saved your life has she not?" Oliver couldn't help himself he hugged Walter, "Thank you. I do love her." "Then you had better go after her, she's special our Felicity," replied Walter with a smile. Oliver grinned, "Yes, she is." He and Diggle rushed backstage. Walter, Thea and Carly took their time going down to see Felicity.

It seemed like hours had passed before the clapping began but when it started it did not stop. The audience stood and clapped for almost 20 minutes before JB finally came out without Felicity. The audience continued to clap and then started chanting Fe li ci ty Fe li ci ty over and over again.

Oliver went to Felicity and knelt down. Her head had not moved since she had sat down and her eyes were unfocused. He put his hands on her face and drew her to him. He brushed his lips across her right ear and whispered, "I love you too, so much." Then kissed her gently. She didn't respond at first she couldn't she was feeling the pull to shut down. She felt a hand on her shoulder, Diggle's, then a different hand on her other shoulder, Roy's. Her eyes fluttered open trying to focus. She saw Oliver's beautiful blue eyes and she fell forward onto his chest. He picked her up and walked her back on stage so she could see who were calling out her name and clapping. She stirred some more and asked to be set down. Oliver wouldn't let her stand on her own he held her against him her back against his chest for which she was grateful. She looked out over the audience and smiled her brilliant smile then heard the orchestra and choir chanting her name and she turned to them and smiled and gave a slight bow. Her whole body shuddered. Oliver whispered in her ear again and told her, "I love you more than anything on this earth. You are the only one. Thank you for this. Thank you for being my salvation. Thank you Felicity for being you." She looked up to him and reached her hand to his face and pulled him down to her and kissed him and he kissed her back oblivious of where they were.


End file.
